Exploration of the Heart (Pt 1)
by MuffledMango
Summary: This is my first fanfic ever! (: Ever since I fell in love with ZoLu, I've wanted to try this,. Please leave a comment and tell me how it was! (Likes, dislikes) Part 2, coming soon! (: - It'll be dirty! o.O


Luffy felt a tingeling sensation through his entire body; a warm, exciting feeling of pleasure and love. This was the only time he felt like this and he enjoyed it to the fullest. He tilted his head back and smiled, before he opened his mouth to scream.

"ISLAAAAND! NEW ISLAND EVERYONE! LOOK, it's right there!" he grinned as he pointed towards the barely visible pointy patch of land right ahead of them. His smile grew even wider when he thought of the adventure he was about to have. He was way to excited and he felt like exploding; he simply couldn't wait.

"Oi, Luffy! Where's this island you're yelling about, I can't see a damn th... Oh, wait. There it is!" Nami, who had joined her captain at the front of the ship, was looking through a telescope and the island had finally caught her eye.

"It'll be a while before we get all the way over there. Two, maybe three hours." She said and looked towards the sky. She was studying the white, fluffy clouds and feeling the warm air.

"This weather seems steady, it won't change in the near future. Three hours tops!" She said, once again to reassure the excited, black-haired boy, before she walked back towards the center of the ship. He pouted at Namis judgement; he didn't feel like waiting that long. Nothing would ever beat the feeling off discovering a new island and letting its adventures unfold before him.

On the center area of the ship, the pirate-crews swordsman was taking a nap, leaning against the mast. Luffys scream, a couple of hours ago, hadn't woken him; he was one of those heavy sleepers. The thing that woke him, was the feel of someone poking his shoulder, then his chest, then his forehead. He opened one eye to see who the disturber was, then closed it again.

"What it is, baka?" Zoro said and frowned, eyes still closed. A giggle sounded and he could picture the familiar grin in his head.

"Zoro needs to wake up now! " Luffy said and poked the green haired mans forehead again.

"We're almost at the next island! Will you go explore with me?" He could barely contain himself at this point and his whole body was trembling a bit. Zoro opened both of his eyes to look directly into a pair of dark brown eyes. The boy was a little closer than he'd expected, so he widened his eyes and pulled his head away.

"Yeah yeah, I'll go with you if you get outta my face!" His words came out sounding a bit harder than he'd intended, but so did almost everything else he said.

"YOSH! An adventure with my first mate!" Luffy yelled out as he ran to the ships rail to look at the island. A small smile spread on Zoros face, before he stood up and began preparing for the trip.

It looked like a nice place and the weather was warm. The smell of the salty sea mixed with the sweet scent of grass and flowers; everything here reminded Luffy of summer and good times.

He'd been walking with the swordsman for about thirty minutes now and the rush of landing at a new island was starting to ware off a bit. He was still in a really good mood though; he always was when he was with Zoro. He didn't care that his friend had a bad temper, 'cause he always seemed to be able to bring out a smile on his face and in the end that's all he could ever want.

"Ooooh, look Zoro! Look look look!" They had emerged from a forest of luscious beech-trees and before them a giant waterfall was splashing down from the top of a cliff.

"Cool!" Luffy said with twinkles in his eyes as he watched the water smashing down with impressive power. Zoro glanced at the easily impressed teen and couldn't help but to smile.

"Can we go to the top?" He was now jumping up and down, pleading his green-haired friend like a puppy, wanting to go for a walk in the park.

"Sure, let's go." Zoro replied, almost as if he'd considered the captains request more like an order. But the fact was, he really enjoyed spending time with Luffy, no matter how exhausting it could be at times.

The view from the top of the cliff was amazing. Zoro had unpacked a small lunchbox Sanji gave them for the trip and they were now enjoying their food while scoping across the sunny landscape.

Luffy had something on his mind, something he'd been thinking of for a couple of weeks. He'd been trying to think of a good way to start a conversation about it, without making the swordsman uncomfortable, but he couldn't.

"I walked in on you last night." It came out of nothing and made Zoro jump a bit. He looked at the rubber man with a confused look. He had to chew his meat and swallow before he could respond, which gave him some time to think. He knew exactly what the black-haired boy meant, but he had no idea why he would bring it up.

"Uhm... What do you mean?" He pretended not to know. His brain was working hard to figure out what was going on.

"You know, in the shower? You were pleasuring yourself." Luffy said and flushed a bit. He could tell the bushido was unable to speak, so he looked away to gander at the view again, giving Zoro some time to respond.

"Y-yeah, I was. What about it?" Once he'd asked, he realised that he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that question. This was without a doubt the weirdest conversation he'd ever had with his captain. He could feel his heart racing in his chest and a warm sensation spread throughout his body.

"I...uhm. I was just wondering what you're thinking of when you do it?" This time Luffys face went really red and he couldn't look the swordsman in the eyes anymore. He knew very well that this wasn't a normal topic, not even for the best of friends, but he had to know.

He'd been having a lot of dreams lately; confusing dreams. Luffy had never thought of sex or romantic love before, being the kid that he was, but during the last couple of weeks he'd started having vivid dreams. He found them arousing and amazing, but also scary. He needed to know if it was normal, if he was normal.

"Well, I... Luffy, why do you wanna know?" He really didn't want to answer the question, but he knew that there had to be a good reason for Luffy bringing up something as awkward as this. He felt his stomach tightening when the younger boy locked eyes with him.

"I think something is wrong with me, Zoro. I-I've been having some weird dreams lately." Luffy looked away and hid his face by burying it in his crossed arms, which were resting on his knees. Zoro had a sudden realisation and thought he might finally had figured out what this whole thing was about, but he didn't want to interrupt his friend.

"I don't like girls!" Luffy exclaimed from his hiding place. This made the older man smile, almost laugh. He reached out and planted his hand on a rubbery shoulder.

"Don't worry Luffy, you're perfectly normal." The straw hat wearing boy tilted his head and looked back at his first mate with a hint of a smile. Zoro patted his shoulder a couple of times and sighed.

He liked both men and women himself, so he didn't find it unusual at all. He'd had many sexual experiences, but he'd never been in love, which actually didn't bother him that much. He knew it would happen sometime, when the right person showed up.

"I'm telling you, don't worry about it. All people like different things, but that doesn't mean that one thing is better than the other." This brought out the familiar grin on Luffys face; Zoro could tell that a huge struggle inside the boys mind had ended.

"Thank you!" Zoro blinked and tensed up a bit when he received a big hug from his dark-haired friend.

Later, when the two of them were walking back to the ship, Luffy was feeling great. A familiar, warm feeling was rushing through his body when he thought of the conversation he'd just had with his trusted first mate. At that moment, he realised something; he never got to know if Zoro like boys as well. He frowned at that thought and glanced at the muscular, green-haired swordsman. He had to find out some other way, he guessed and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Zoro raised a brow as he gave Luffy a stare.

"I wanna have a party on The Sunny tonight!" A huge grin covered the boys face. Zoro smiled as well and shrugged.

"Sure, sounds fun." Luffys cheeks went pink; he hadn't told the swordsman that he was the one his dreams were about. He still wasn't sure if he could make any of them come true, but he knew that he really wanted to try. Butterflies whirled around his stomach at the thought and he could feel his cheeks blushing even more. This wasn't just about lust for the unexperienced teen; he'd fallen in love.

That same evening The Sunny was looking nothing like it used to; colored paper-lanterns embellished the rail and mast, adding a warm glow to the ship. The crew had no contradictions when their captain happily announced his party-plans when he got back from his adventure with Zoro. Everyone, except a curtain sleeping swordsman, had helped with the decorating while Sanji worked in the kitchen.

Once the crews stomachs had been filled with amazing dishes, the real party was about to begin. Everyone was outside on the deck; even though the sun had gone down, the air was still nice and warm. Brook was performing some of his best songs, while Franky, Usopp, Chopper and Luffy danced and sang along. The girls, Nami and Robin, watched and laughed in between their conversations. Sanji, who was now a bit tipsy, swirled clumsily around the girls, purring about their beauty. It seemed that the more he drank, the sexier his comments got. Nami almost pounded him in the face, but missed; she wasn't exactly sober either. The only one who wasn't drinking was Chopper, as he always wanted to be ready if someone needed medical attention.

For once, Zoro was wide awake. He could feel the warmth in his chest and his legs were tingling. He was sitting by himself on his usual spot by the mast with a beer, watching the guys dance and sing. An almost invisible smile passed his lips, when he realized he was staring at his captain. He'd always thought of him as a handsome boy, but he'd always deliberately shut down those thoughts; after all, he was just a kid and more importantly his best friend and captain. This night his red west was open, showing of his young, trimmed torso. His black hair bounced as he jumped around chasing Chopper, trying to convince him to let him try one of his rumble balls. Zoro, who was still watching the rubber-boy and his features, felt his stomach tighten when the two of them suddenly locked eyes. The green-haired man looked away so fast that he didn't see Luffys face flushing.

Earlier that day, when everyone had finished decorating the ship, the whole crew sat down on the lawn to relax. Most of them had engaged in a conversation, which started out pretty innocent, but a few remarks from Sanji and Franky had turned the whole thing into a conversation about sex. This happened often, mainly due to the perverts on the ship.

"I don't get it, what's the point of making love if you're not in love?" Luffy had asked.

That question was still on Zoros mind. At first he hadn't given it much thought, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that something had changed. He couldn't figure out exactly what, but something seemed different. He took a big sip of his beer and tried to hide his blushing face. Apparently there was more to Luffy than he would've ever guessed, which had roused Zoros curiosity quite a bit.

Luffy could feel his chest more than ever. He was kinda happy that the bushido had looked away when their eyes met, 'cause he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself for long, looking into those eyes. This also gave him an opportunity to watch his older friend a little; the green hair he'd dreamed of running his fingers through, the lips he'd imagined to be soft and experienced, and the strong arms he wished would grab him and hold him tight. The boy sighed. Tonight he really wanted their relationship to evolve. He wasn't used to having feelings like these, so he had absolutely no plan, but he knew something had to happen.

"Oi, Zoro!" The voice made the swordsman jump a bit, which resulted in him spilling beer on himself.

"Dammit! What it is?" He snapped in a harsh tone. Zoros temper was higher than the cliff he'd climbed earlier and he simply couldn't control it. He regretted his outburst and forced out a smile when he saw the frown on the boys face.

"Sorry Luffy. What did you want?" A rubbery grin stretched across the black-haired boys face again.

"Nothing really. Just making sure Zoro is having a good time." The captain said with a smirk as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Sure, it's a great party." This time the green-haired mans smile was sincere. He was just about to ask if Luffy was having fun, but he was interrupted by an unexpected act. A couple of soft lips had just brushed his left cheek and now he knew he couldn't hide his red face.

"I'm glad." Luffy whispered into Zoros ear, before he ran off as quickly as he'd appeared. This left the man on his usual spot with a burning hot cheek, forever marked by what had just happened. He raised a hand and placed it on the spot, looking confused and happy at the same time. He didn't quite understand what had just happened, but he knew that it contradicted with everything he'd ever thought on the matter. He also knew that nothing had made him feel like this. Ever.

Overwhelmed with feelings, Zoro had decided to leave the party. No one noticed him getting up and slowly making his way towards the back of the ship, except for Luffy. He watched him merge with the shadows with a sinking heart.

"Didn't he like it?" he wondered out loud. He sat down on the spot the swordsman had just left and engaged in a stare-down with the floor. He had no idea what to do. Should he go to him? Or should he just forget about it? Sanji, who had now reached a point of drunken clear-sightedness, suddenly sat down beside him.

"What the hell are you waiting for, baka?" He mumbled. Luffy gave the blond cook a blank stare, which was returned by a dead serious look.

"Don't look at me like you don't know what I mean," he said with a scarily calm voice.

"Why aren't you going after him?" Luffy flushed and his eyes flickered. He didn't really need anymore encouragement than that. Gratefully he pulled his tipsy friend in for a hug.

"Thank's Sanji!" He jumped up and headed directly towards the back of the ship. Sanji swayed a bit as he watched the captain disappear. He smirked before he turned around and started walking determined towards Usopp, who had passed out on the lawn.

The water was almost to clear that night; Zoro noticed this as he rested his elbows on the rail, observing the dark sea. His head was filled with thoughts and it felt like his body couldn't contain his soul. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to laugh, but he did neither. He just stood there like a statue made of stone. The only thing moving, was his heart.

"Fuck," he whispered into the night. He didn't even notice the smile that was taking over his lips. Then he heard foot-steps approaching and he recognized them immediately. He jumped a bit and turned around.

"Luffy, you almost snook up on me," he said silently. He soon regretted having turned around; the black-haired boy looked amazing in the dim light of the moon and the feeling in his stomach told him what he'd been trying to ignore. He wanted him and nothing but him.

"Oh, uhm... Should I leave Zoro alone?" Luffy stopped, hesitated. The white light from the moon made his eyes sparkle in an innocent and boyish manner.

"Never!" Zoro said steadily and stepped closer. He wanted to hold him, embrace him. He still wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but he knew that this was what he wanted. He opened his arms, desperately wanting to experience the touch of his young captains skin. Luffy fell into his arms and swung his own around Zoros neck, before squeezing his lips onto his. The sudden kiss between the two was soft and passionate. The boy was standing on his toes to reach, clinging on to his love like he never wanted to stop. He ran his fingers through Zoros hair and let out a quiet moan. Zoro pulled his head back to look into a pair of dark eyes; he enjoyed seeing them this close.

"I...I love you, Luffy," his words were nothing more than a whisper. The captain pulled Zoros head in for another tender kiss.

"You're just saying that to get in my pants!" Luffy whispered back and grinned.

"Baka!" The swordsman gently struck the back of the boys head and smiled.

"Zoro's been smiling a lot lately!" This made Zoros face red. Once again the young captains ability to observe and notice surprised him; however, his ability to talk about it so bluntly, didn't. Zoro didn't really know how to respond. Maybe Luffy could tell, because he immediately hugged his green-haired friend and laughed.

"Oh, and I love you too!"


End file.
